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Public Affairs coverage from our award-winning staff |
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Governors Talk High-Speed Rail in Chicago
Produced by Alex Keefe on Sunday, July 26, 2009
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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is the host of what he's calling the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit.
The goal is for states to coordinate plans in hopes of winning a share of $8 billion in federal stimulus money set aside for high-speed trains.
Rich Harnish is the executive director of the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association, an advocacy group.
He says Illinois and Wisconsin are especially well-positioned to win federal money.
HARNISH: The Federal Railroad Administration has said that they criteria they're looking for is public support; plans that are ready to go, which the two states have; and multi-state cooperation certainly helps.
A spokeswoman for Quinn says the Midwest governors may finally pick leaders to head up the region's high-speed rail efforts.
That's something U.S. Transportation Sec.Ray LaHood has been recommending.
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John Spinelli, Columbus, Ohio // Sunday, July 26, 2009 @ 12:39 PM
As the Ohio Director for Tubular Rail Inc. (www.tubularrail.com), an advanced train technology that can do more for less than when compared to the plans and costs for medium-speed rain in the US, I am disappointed that my calls to both Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's office and that of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, about this summit meeting, were completely ignored. As for Rick Harnish, he's not a public officials, but because special people have been specially invited to attend, he'll be on the inside while the public and fast, affordable, clean technologies like Tubular Rail will remain on the outside, as decisions are made on the future of rail transport within the Midwestern Rail Corridor. When the public is excluded from such meetings, it's a bad sign that the fix is in, orchestrated by the paranoid status quo transportation gatekeepers who are selling a pig in a poke when it comes to an expectations of this nation achieving true high speeds at costs that won't bankrupt us all. Tubular Rail, the "trackless train" company based in Houston, Texas, believes we have a better idea, one that can build out a faster, wider spread system for less money and less disruption to existing infrastructure than the conventional railroads Ohio and other states are gunning for. All we want is a chance at bat. These same groups have done virtually nothing for decades and decades, but are now salivating at the thought of hauling in billions for consultants and planners to again fritter away the public's dollar for systems whose ridership claims will be exaggerated to make a plausible argument that it can work. Advancements in industry products, from laundry soap to iPods are always sought. But in the transportation industry, we move forward as if the best train innovation was made by Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steam engine. Let us have a chance at the plate, and we'll knock one out of the park.
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Willis, Chicago // Sunday, July 26, 2009 @ 2:18 PM
This meeting should be very beneficial, but what the mid-west states need is a true Midwest Passenger Rail Authority. This organization would be able to have governmental powers in all the member states. This would eliminate the problems currently seen with interstates where one drives from one state to another and the road suddenly goes from paved to potholes. If done properly, the authority would speak with 9 governor, 18 senator, and nearly 100 representative voices when seeking federal money. Money could be focused in the necessary places, initially the three routes from Chicago as well as the Cleveland-Cincinatti route. Thereafter, funds would be spent branching out from these trunks to reach most mid-sized communities with 70-110 mph rail.
With $12billion now available this year and likely several billion each year for the next decade, we must concentrate our efforts to have efficient completed routes rather than 25 unfinished projects which will only give fuel the the pessimistic anti-rail lobby.
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Totto, Evanston // Sunday, July 26, 2009 @ 3:36 PM
Seeing the vast improvements in the rail systems in Europe over the past thirty years, it's good to see this country finally address passenger rail. What works well in Europe can and will work well here. City-center to city-center rail makes sense, particularly given the great inconvenience of present day airports and the fact that so many live in cities, again.
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Griffin Mulrooney, Beverly, Chicago // Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 12:24 AM
I am keeping my fingers crossed that High Speed Rail in the US is franchised (see the proposed DesertXpress - LA to Vegas) to private "for profit" companies and NOT touched by Amtrak, which in my opinion would be the kiss of death.
As a former Amtrak employee, I witnessed first-hand the waste of money, missed opportunities, ineptitude and mismanagement. They are just now training their on-board employees with POS cash registers. Enough said.
As one who has traveled on Japan Rail's Shinkansen, France's TGV and even Britain's Virgin Trains, I have seen "the present" and know that the US must get it right and model ourselves after these overseas successes. Although Amtrak's NEC (Northeast Corridor Acela) has been a money maker for the NRPC, it certainly isn't in the same league as overseas rail.
We should and must Raise the Bar and be innovative and imaginative when it comes to High Speed Rail in the US.
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Mike, Evanston // Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 7:53 AM
Interesting concept with the tubular rail, but..
- concerns of rolling-stock metal fatigue would almost certainly be raised by city engineers
- for liability reasons elevated rail systems are usually required to include escape walkways. This was a contributing factor to the cost inflation (and ultimate demise) of the Seattle monorail project.
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Brian P., Chicago // Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 9:28 AM
High-speed rail is not what it's cracked up to be. http://www.illinoispolicyinstitute.org/news/article.asp?ArticleSource=1151
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